


Just us

by ioanas_21



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25405801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ioanas_21/pseuds/ioanas_21
Relationships: Sebastian Stan/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. The one with the call

It was a loud storm outside and you just got an email from the college you were in saying that due to Coronavirus you needed to evacuate the dormitories. Your first thought was to go home but then it hit you that because your mother wasn’t in her best condition you didn’t want to risk her life so you needed to think of another alternative, but before you do that you needed to call home and make sure everyone knew you were safe.  
“Hi ma’!” you said tiredly.  
“Have you been sleeping sweetie? Where are you now? Still in college?” she asked concerned.  
“Yeah I am still in New York. They just sent us an email about the moving. “  
“Oh so does that mean my baby is coming home?”  
“I am not going to come home until everything gets better mom. I don’t want you to get sick. You and dad have already enough on your mind. I am going to figure it out on my own. Going to call you when I am free. I still need to pack a few boxes.”  
“Okay hun but do call if you need any help and maybe even if you can’t find something and you really need to come home. I love you a lot. Stay safe. ”  
“I love you too ma’. And dad as well. Byeee ”  
With that you closed the call and put your phone away but then an idea got through your head. It was kind of a long shot because even if you were friends and you knew he would say yes you didn’t want to be a burden for him but he was your last chance of not staying on the streets of New York so you made the call.  
“Hey.”.  
“Hey you. How are you? Still busy learning how to act?” he answered pretty chipper for the hour you called  
“Yeah still tryna figure that out. Look I wouldn’t have called you about this if it wasn’t an emergency but I kinda need a favor right now”  
“Sure shoot away darling.”  
“So you know the whole situation at home and our college emailed us saying that we need to leave the dormitories asap and I can't go home and I can’t find someone to take me in and I was wondering if you would mind me to crash to your place. I know it is all of a sudden and you probably have oth..  
“I am going to stop you right there. First of all thank you for even considering me as your choice of living. Second of all it is not a problem. I can come right over and help you pack your stuff and you can move right away. And third I have nothing better to do than quarantine with one of my besties. ”  
“You are an absolute lifesaver and I owe you big time. Thank you so much. ”  
“Anything for you doll. See you in 20. You still in 385 right? Course you are I am dumb.”  
You chuckled at the mans own response you said a quick “thank you” again and then you closed the call. You got yourself busy with a box that held a lot of you clothes and toiletries that you were going to take with you along with another suitcase filled with some clothes, some shoes and a few other small things that reminded you of home. You didn’t even realize how fast time flew until you heard a knock on your door. You quickly got up from the floor and went to open it. Outside, pretty wet from the storm but still very handsome it stood none other than Sebastian Stan, the great actor and the man you called your best friend. How you knew each other?  
It all started a few years ago when you were trying to get casted in a play and he was there auditioning as well. You knew you had no chance in front of the other beautiful more older ladies that auditioned before you but you still decided to try. You went on stage with shaky legs and sweaty palms and as you got front and center you exhaled heavily as if you were holding in the air for too long. You did your part almost with your eyes closed because you were having so many mixed emotions that you couldn’t express fully. When you were done you slowly opened your eyes as you heard someone clapping. I was Sebastian, but you didn’t know at that point and after him the director of the play started clapping as well. You blushed hard and did a small and awkward bow. The director got closer to the stage and said:  
“You my darling are perfect for this role. You understood her emotions, her feelings. I need you for this.”  
“Thank you very much for this opportunity I am thrilled, thank you.”  
You got off the stage and went to let your contact details to his assistant and then stood for a bit to watch the man who cheered for you audition. He did an amazing job and you cheered for him as he cheered for you, and just like you he got his part. You were ready to leave when somebody caught your arm. It was him, the man who clapped. He got the most amazing blue eyes you’ve seen in a while and you got a little bit lost in them not hearing what he was saying.  
“I am sorry, what did you say?” you asked feeling pretty dumb.  
“It is okay. I said that I am Sebastian and if you don’t mind and you are free we could go and grab something to eat. To celebrate you know.”  
“Hi Sebastian pleased to meet you. My name is Johanna but you can call me Jay.I would love to but I can’t right now. I have a class in an hour I need to get there.”  
“Are you still in college?”  
“Yeah I managed to get into Juilliard. I have no idea how till this day but since I got in they have been the best two of my life.”  
“Congratulations then I would need to say”  
“Yeah indeed. Look can you give me your number so we can stay in touch? And about that lunch let’s reschedule for the weekend. Would that be okay with you?” You handed your phone while talking and he took it and entered his number along with a <3 that made you smile.  
“Yeah sure works for me”  
“Great then I am going to call you probably on Friday night to see when and where we meet . It was nice to talk to you but I really need to run right now.”  
“Same here. I am happy that I clapped to get your attention. See ya”  
That was your first encounter and one of the most memorable ones you’ve got. Since that play you two got real close. Some people said you were dating but that wasn’t true. Yeah maybe deep down you had feelings for him but that will not change the fact that you have been best friends for over 4 years now. You have been with each other through thick and thin and for a while in his crazy Marvel press tour days you were his assistant. It was pretty funny and you got along with all of the actors and had a good time but it was also very tiring and very stressful and nerve-wracking. You went at the Endgame premiere with him after he begged you for two days. You couldn’t say no forever to that cute lost puppy face. This was your last year in college and that is because you wanted to take another year in order to take some more classes but after this it was the real world that was waiting for you and you were ready.  
“Come in. Let me get you a towel to get your hair kinda dry before you go out there again.”  
He got in and hugged you tight and you hugged him back sniffing his T-shirt just because his scent was calming your nerves that were killing you since you got that stupid email. He let you go after a few minutes and you went and grabbed a clean towel and then handed it to him.  
“Okay so what goes in the car and what do we move to the storage unit?”  
“Those two in the car. The other four in the unit.” You pointed to the boxes and suitcases you had all around the room.  
“Okay let’s get this done and go home and watch a movie”  
“Let’s go” you approved tiredly.


	2. The one with the trolley

You managed to find one of those trolleys to help you move the boxes and suitcases easier and you first started with the ones that needed to go in the unit. You managed to do some stacking that made a pretty interesting Jenga tower out of the four boxes you had. You turned to Sebastian that was resting his head near the doorframe.  
“We can get these downstairs and come back for the rest later or get it all in one go. How do you want to do it?”  
“All in one go. I honestly don’t want to wait for that elevator one more time.”  
You smiled at his words because you knew what he was meaning. That elevator was a pain in the ass even when it wasn’t used intensely. It was usually broken half of the time and when it was working it was moving so slow that you managed to get faster in your dorm room by taking the stairs. You placed the other box and the suitcase on the trolley and closed the door with one last glance. Turning your back to the room that was your home for the past four and a half years was hard but you had to do it. Sebastian started pushing the trolley down the hall and you followed him quickly. There was a short line in front of the evaluator, so you two waited patiently to get in. He was resting his forearms on the handler of the trolley and you slowly leaned on his side placing an arm on his shoulder for support. He lifted his head to look into your eyes.  
“Tired?” he asked rather concerned for your health.  
“Very. This day was so stressful. I just want to get this thing done and head home and wrap myself in a blanket and never leave again.”  
He chuckled softly hearing that and he took one of his arms off the handler and put it around your waist so he could pull you closer to him. It wasn’t anything romantic between you two, you just loved each other’s company so much and over the years of your friendship you grew so comfortable with one another that it wasn’t awkward to hug each other like that in public. You stood like that for a couple of minutes until it was your turn to hop in the elevator. The ride was quiet and pretty short considering the old machine. Once arrived downstairs you loaded all your things in Sebastian’s car and pushed the cart to the side where a few more were standing. You two hopped in the car and you gave him the address to your storage unit. It was still pouring rain outside and so cold that you could literally feel the glass forming. Inside the car it was warm and it was smelling just like mint and freshly cut grass, two of the smells that reminded you of back home so you felt some tears forming in the back of your eyes. Sebastian felt that you got pretty quiet so he opened the radio and handed you his phone so you could pick some of the songs you loved to play on your ride. You picked some of your favorites along with some of his and you could see his fingers pounding on the steering wheel. You started humming softly at the music and as he was started singing you followed along even though you both were pretty bad at singing, but you had a blast some of the tension in your body being relieved as you arrived at the storage unit complex and you knew the ride was almost over, just a few more minutes and you would be able to get at Sebastian’s place. Again you took one of those trolleys and placed it outside the back of the car so you two could unload the four boxes. That was the easy part, now it was time to find your way to the unit and that was always a struggle even though you made that route a couple of times this year.  
“So which way is it darling?”  
“This way, first is a left, then is right, straight ahead ten units and we should see it. It is 221 the number by the way.” You answered to his question hoping that what you said was true.  
“Okay let’s get moving.”  
He started walking in the direction you pointed and you followed shortly after making sure that you had the keys for the padlock. Fortunately for the two of you your directions were in fact correct. You unlocked the unit and placed the boxes quickly on the floor then locking it back again. After you checked to see if the padlock was in fact closed you turned to the man and he was having a mischievous look on his face.  
“Hop on” he said grinning.  
“Do you really want to push me all the way out?” you asked.  
“Yes. And also do a race with the wind and see if I win.” he answered sarcastically.  
“Fine. But if we crash and I get injured you pay.”   
“Seems fine by me” he responded smiling. ”Now hop on.”  
You didn’t wait to be told another time. You plopped yourself on the wet trolley but it didn’t quite matter anyway since your jeans were pretty soaked anyway and he started pushing you as you started giggling like a small child. You raised your arms in the air and were laughing so hard with your eyes closed that you couldn’t notice the face of fondness and love Sebastian was having looking at you, happy that he was able to make you laugh even from a silly thing. Before you noticed you were outside and he stopped pushing you coming in the front to help you stand and lead you back to his car. As you were getting in you reminded about your wet clothes.  
“Seb, I am wet, I am going to ruin you seats.”  
“It is fine Jay. I am also wet and it will dry afterwards. Don’t worry. Now get in and let’s get home to have some cocoa and a movie in a fuzzy blanket. How does that sound?”  
“Sounds like a very nice dream Seb. Can’t wait to get out of these wet jeans and put on some sweats. I also need to call mom and tell her I am staying with you. She was so concerned when I called earlier today. She thought that I will end up sleeping on the streets.”  
“How is she doing lately? Last time we talked you said she seemed better.”  
“She is better than she was before, thank you for asking. The doctors are actually quite optimistic, they say she might actually get fully recovered. But even though they say that I still expect something to not work properly and to all go downhill. ”  
“It will be okay Jay. It will all turn out how it needs to be. I feel it.”  
You smiled at his optimism you started staring out the window remembering the moment you found out your mother had Leukemia. It happened two years ago and you still remembered it like it was yesterday. You were back home in New Jersey and you were getting ready to head out when you overheard a conversation between your parents.  
“We need to tell her Rosie. She has a right to know. I know you are scared and all of that but she is a big girl now. She can handle it.”  
“I know that Art but I don’t want to scare her. I just ugh, I wish everything was just normal. I wish I didn’t had this awful disease.”  
“I know darling, I do know that but you need to remember but me and Jay bear will be here for you. And the three of us will conquer this Leukemia shit and kick it right where it came from .”   
You almost squealed when you heard your dad’s words. Leukemia? You must’ve heard wrong. But then you heard your mother’s voice again.  
“You are right love. I will tell her tonight. Let her have her fun with her friend. She missed them so much.”  
As you heard that you remembered that you and your friend Amy planned on going out for a little bit of a shopping treat but after hearing that you didn’t quite feel like shopping. Neither was putting on a happy face so Amy wouldn’t suspect something was wrong with you. You headed out after screaming an “I am out I love you” to your parents and called Amy to tell that you weren’t feeling that well and to reschedule a couple days later. She understood and by the tone of her voice she wasn’t buying it but she let you slip out just this one time but she also told you that if you needed someone to talk to she was there for you. You thanked her and got inside of your car, put on your seatbelt and sighed loudly. You started to drive around for a few hours with no target really and then you stopped near a park. You got out of your car and inhaled hard and then started to walk around after making sure that you closed the car doors and windows. After a few minutes of thinking and walking you sat down on a bench and pulled your phone out of your jeans pocket. You spin it around and then decided to make the call.  
“Seb?” you said letting a quiet sob leave your mouth.  
“Jay, are you okay? Are you hurt?” he asked concerned.  
“I am fine, I am good. My mom though Seb she is not. She has Leukemia Seb. She might die and I might not be there for her just because I wanted to be away for college. And this is all my fault” you spit those words out very fast.  
“Hey, hey hun easy. Calm down a bit. Are you sure she has it?”  
“Y-yeah. I overheard them in the kitchen as I was preparing to leave earlier today. She said that she didn’t want to tell me to not scare me but then dad encouraged her and she agreed to confess tonight. So tonight I am going to hear that for a second time.”  
“Okay well, try and calm down a little bit. First you need to act like you hadn’t already overheard and that won’t be easy but you are an amazing actress and I know you can mask your emotions pretty good. Secondly I need you to breathe baby. Inhale and exhale or you will have a panic attack.” He said softly  
You started to breathe quite loud still hearing Sebastian’s voice in your ear saying “you are doing good baby, keep going”.  
You realized you zoned out pretty bad and that you already arrived at Sebastian’s place when he squeezed your hand and said your name pretty loud for you to hear him.  
“I am sorry love. I was just remembering the first time I found out mom had Leukemia.”  
“Ah I remember that day. I was feeling so bad to hear you crying over the phone and feel so worthless. Come on let’s get inside and get dry. Shall we? ”  
Now you may wonder what is with all the pet names like love, darling, hun. You just loved to use with your girl friends and after Sebastian becoming a best a friend of yours you started using it on him too. He didn’t seem to get annoyed or pissed at you on the contrary it actually grew on him and he started using them more often than you would.  
“We sure shall.” You smiled squeezing back his hand and getting out of the car.


	3. The one with the hatter

You grabbed the suitcase and he took the box from the trunk of the car and you made your way to the apartment building. It was a very nice place and even if you have been here for a couple of times you just couldn’t get past the feeling that it was amazing. You remembered the time Sebastian was moving and he called you for decorating advice and after a few minutes of giving him instructions over the phone you both agreed that if this needed to be awesome you were going shopping together. So he picked you up and you went to IKEA cause they had some of the furniture Seb wanted and maybe you could find some cute pillows and nice fuzzy blankets along with some frames and a few fake plants.  
You took the stairs to get to the second floor and when you managed to get up there you felt like your heart was going to pop out of your chest and that your lungs were going to run out of air. You really needed to get to the gym more often. Maybe after this whole thing ends you could bribe Sebastian to go with you and make him somewhat of a personal trainer of yours.  
He opened the door and got in and you quickly followed him. He put the box on the floor next to a pair of slippers that in the dark looked like Captain America slippers but you couldn’t be quite sure. You let the handle of the suitcase and pushed the door in order to close it and then you locked it. You untied your sneakers and let them near the door and made your way into the kitchen where your friend was making himself busy with a pot of milk.  
“What are you doin’?”  
“Well I promised hot cocoa.”  
“Yeah that is true but you also said we need to get dry. And I don’t want to be responsible for you catching a cold. So please go and get into something that it is not wet and then do that if you really want to.”  
“Gosh you get into such mom mode sometimes. And don’t get me wrong it is super cute. But alright I will go and get changed but only if you do too. And if you don’t want to unpack tonight, or should I say this early today you can borrow some stuffs from my closet. ”  
You agreed to borrow some clothes from him because you didn’t feel like going in and unpack until you find a pair of sweats and a night T-shirt . Besides the packing you did was all a mess and you did not want to get it any messier. He went into his room and came back with a black pair of sweatpants and a grey T-shirt. He handed them to you and while he did that you saw that he already changed into a blue tee with some black shorts.  
“You can go change in there or into the bathroom which is down the hall. I have some of that facewash you love in there. And if you need anything else just ask.”  
You nodded and started walking towards the bathroom but then you stopped and turned.  
“Sebby?”  
“Yes darling?”  
“Thank you. For everything. For making time for me when you can, for helping me in times like this, for taking my calls when you are on press tours and you are tired and just want to face plant yourself on a pillow but you don’t and you listen to me and my problems. So thank you” you said in a small voice.  
He walked towards you and wrapped his arms around you moving them up and down for a bit on your back cause you were shivering and he mumbled in your hair.  
“It is nothing to thank me for doll. I love your company and your voice makes my ugly press days better and even if I am exhausted as shit you put a smile on my face.”  
He let go of you and with the warmth of his body gone you started shivering again so he pushed you to the bathroom and went to finish the cocoas. You closed the door behind you and undressed from the wet clothes and put them in a basket that held all of his dirty clothes. You then put your hair in a ponytail and washed your face with that facewash you loved, the one that smelled like blueberries . After you were done you exited the bathroom and walked towards the kitchen and stood on one of the stools and watched your friend’s back while he was so focused on what he was doing that he didn’t hear you. You started zoning out again thinking about your parents. I t was true what you said to him that your mom was feeling better and that the doctors were optimistic but that doesn’t mean that even if everything goes right the disease couldn’t come again. And you just couldn’t lose her. There were moments like this when you wish you stayed beck home and do some in marketing and get a job at your dad’s firm. A short “ahem” pulled out of your thoughts.  
“You zoned out again. Are you sure you okay?” he asked while motioning you follow him towards the couch with the two mugs in his hands.  
“Yeah I am fine, just tired and had a lot on my mind. Concerned about mom as usual. My heart stops every time I get a phone from dad because I expect to be the one that tells me she is gone.”  
“Well I know it is hard but you need to get your mind off it for just a little okay? If you don’t keep living your life out of fear it won’t be good for you and your mom never wanted that for you. Now c’mon stop being mellow and let’s watch something.”  
“Okay we watch something but not Game of Thrones. You already tried to force me watch that and I swear that I tried but I just can’t.”  
“Ughhh fine. Then you pick.”  
Hearing that you put on a huge grin and he groaned again because he knew what that meant.  
“Jay not agaaain. I know you love it and I liked it too when I was in it but c’mon how many times are you going to make me watch the Once Upon A Time episodes in which I play the Mad Hatter?”  
“As many times as I can. You should know better that you should not let me pick something to watch cause I am just going to pick stuffs your are in cause I love watching you on the screen.”  
He sighed cause he knew you were saying the truth and you smiled cause you knew he gave up in your little argument. He gave you the remote and you searched for a little until you found the episode you liked and then pressed play and you picked up you cocoa mug which you noticed after was a Bucky one.  
“So you don’t like Jefferson but you give me Bucky mug?” you asked him.  
“That is actually a mug you left here last Christmas. You told me to keep it. And I never said I don’t like Jefferson. I just don’t understand your obsession with my characters. ”  
“Ohh I totally forgot about that. But I still second the fact that you can keep it tho. And I love your characters because I love you dork. They are a part of you, more or less, and you gave them life and voice.” You shrugged your shoulders explaining.  
He nodded and took a sip from his mug.  
“You are right. And I am happy that you are excited of every work I do. Makes me feel like I do something good you know?”  
You nodded and scooted closer to him and he wrapped one arm around you and you placed your head on his chest. The warmth of his body was making you feel sleepy and as he was stroking your hair absent minded you felt yourself drifting off in a dreamless sleep. You woke up a couple of hours later still on the couch. Sebastian was still sleeping and you moved slowly in order to not wake him up too. You had this weird thing that it didn’t matter how late you went to sleep you woke up before 9 AM every day. Today made no exception as you went to see the time and it was 8 and a half. You placed a blanket on the snoring man on the couch and you went to do your morning routine in the bathroom. You brushed your teeth and your hair and then put it back in the ponytail cause you didn’t feel like bothering today with it and then washed your face and after all of that you exited the bathroom and saw a very sleepy and confused Sebastian who was looking after you. You smiled at the sight cause he looked like a lost puppy. A very sweet looking lost puppy.   
“Why aren’t you still sleeping?” you asked him.  
“I could ask the same thing. We slept for like four hours. How are you so awake?” he responded with a loud yawn a big stretch.  
“I always wake up before nine. It is like my internal clock is like yeah you are done, you don’t need more sleep. Anyway, breakfast?” already walking towards the kitchen.  
“What about this, we stay in for a little longer and then we go out for breakfast and then we go grocery shopping.”  
“Sounds good. We go to that waffles place?”  
“Anything you want as long as I get one more hour of sleep.”   
“Alright go back to bed then. I will start unpacking some stuffs and then do some laundry if you don’t mind. I noticed you have your laundry basket pretty full.”  
“Umm thanks. You don’t need to do that, I can do that later.”  
“No, no don’t worry about it. It is the least I could do. Now go to bed ” you ushered him towards his bedroom with a quick kiss on the cheek.  
After the door was closed behind him you went and grabbed your things and moved them to the guest room. You firstly opened the suitcase and you sighed at the mess inside. You took out the shoes that took up most of the space inside and placed them at the bottom of the closet. You then took everything out of the suitcase and placed it on the bed and started folding them to place them in the closet/ closet drawers. After that you moved towards the box that kept a few more clothes, some small decorations like a small fake cactus, all your school books, a hair straightener and a few framed photos (one with you and your parents in front of the Christmas tree last year, one with you and Amy in your last year of high school and your all-time favorite, one with you and Sebastian at a carnival two years ago ). You placed them on the dresser that was under the TV and huffed happily that you finished everything so fast. You exited the room and walked towards the bathroom to load the machine, change in some outside clothes and then do some school work.  
You changed into a pair of dark washed blue jeans and a maroon hoodie. After loading the washing machine you took your laptop out of your backpack and opened the essay that you started yesterday about the importance of picking the right person for a villain in a play/movie. Before starting working you decided to call your parents. You ringed your mother’s phone number and she picked up after the third ring.  
“Hi ma’. How are you today?”  
“Hey darling. I am good, ma and your father were eating breakfast. How are you sweets? Did you manage to find a place to stay?”  
“I am good mom and yes I did. I am staying with Sebastian ” you answered to her concerned questions. Your parents liked Sebastian, you took him a couple of years ago back to your home for Thanksgiving and the three of them clicked right away. He was making jokes with your dad and helping in the kitchen as much as he would’ve been let by your mother.  
“Oh darling I am happy to hear that. How is he? ”  
“He is fine. He was a bit tired so I let him sleep in today. I will tell him you said hi and maybe later we can all do a video call. How does that sound ma?”  
“Sounds good darling. Take care of yourself. Mommy loves you.”  
“Love you too ma’. ” and with that you closed the call and placed your phone on the kitchen counter .   
You heard footsteps behind you and a fully clothed Sebastian was standing near the couch.   
“Hey, ready to go for a late breakfast ?” he asked smiling.  
“Oh yeah. Let me just grab my shoes and wallet and we can go” you answered while closing your laptop again. You rushed and put on the white, now not so white Air Force 1’s and took the wallet and phone and stuffed them in the pockets of your black coat.  
“Now I am ready. Let’s go cause I am starving and I need caffeine in an IV”  
He laughed at your silliness and opened the door for you.


	4. The one with the store

We exited the apartment building and started walking down the street to the waffle place we talked about earlier. It was the first place that we went to together after we started rehearsing for that play. And it was actually around midnight when we first went in here and we grabbed waffles and shakes to go and went in a park and sat on a bench in the cold October air and we laughed like silly kids at stupid jokes.

Now it just felt different. It could be because of the pandemic going on right now but everyone was chaotic. When we arrived at the place, just like the first time we took the waffles and the shakes to go but we noticed the fact that everyone was pretty scared. We exited the shop and went on with our day not stopping in the park like the last time but we ate while walking towards a grocery shop that was pretty close, just a couple of blocks away.  
“So what else you want to do today?” he asked me while he was sipping the remains of his vanilla shake before throwing it away.  
“I want to finish that essay that you saw me working on this morning. You can actually help me with it. ”  
“What is it about?” he responded curiously.  
“It is about the importance of picking the right person for a villain in a play/movie. And no I don’t want to speak about Bucky because for me he is a victim and you know it. ”  
“Then about who? ”  
“Marvel villains in general. Like Zemo maybe or Thanos, or even Ultron.”  
“I think we can do that sure.” He answered as we were entered the shop.   
He picked a small cart and started pushing it around the shop.  
“What do we need?” I asked as I didn’t knew what he wanted to buy or what he didn’t had at home.  
“Well some packs of various nuts to snack on, some chips, chocolate and gummy bears, fruits and veg, meats, quinoa , almond milk, some water and beer or wine or both. ”  
“Okay I will go to get fruits and veggies meet me at the meats. Anything in particular that you don’t eat?”  
“No I am pretty good with everything darling. Remember to get some salad dressing while you are at it by the way.”  
“Roger that. See ya later.” I said and waved while walking to the fresh section.   
I first started with the fruits and picked some oranges and bananas along with some tangerines. I saw a bunch of pomegranates and took some of those too and then just as a joke picked some plums. I went after to get the veggies and picked some tomatoes, cucumbers and two salads, some broccoli and kale for kale chips. Went and grabbed a sack of potatoes and struggled to get them all to the cart that Seb took with him to the meat section. When he saw me he jumped to help me and then said that I am a dummy for not grabbing another cart. I agreed with him and went back to get the salad dressing and after that we carried on with our shopping. While we were at the drinks section I went a picked some Monster Energy drinks in different flavors.  
“Are you trying to kill your body?” he asked me skeptical.  
“Well no, and yeah I know they are not healthy but they taste good. And they helped me get past some shit so yeah. And I have been drinking these since high school and here I am all healthy and breathing.”   
He sighed at my answer but he didn’t say anything more about that. We picked a nice red wine and some beers and the checked out the shop and like the gentleman that he is he didn’t want to let me carry any bags but I managed to steal some from him as he was tying his shoelaces and then ran away with them before he could argue. I was out of breath when I finally arrived at the apartment building but it was so worth it to see him annoyed by these little things I did. When he got in front of me he gave a half smile and half ugly look and I laughed at the face he made.  
“I am no damsel in distress Seb. I can carry a few stuff without break.”  
“I sure know you do darling but I do not want you to. Momma would be disappointed of me right now.”  
“Oh no she wouldn’t. She knows how stubborn I can be.”  
And that was true. His mother knew me almost as much as he knew me. We clicked since we first met and we both shared a passion for baking even though her cakes and scones were far better than mine. But she knew how stubborn I could be since the last fourth of July that I spent with their family and they told me to not bring anything and that everything was taken care of but I decided to get some fireworks and bake a pie just because I hated going empty handed.  
We walked upstairs and dropped our goodies on the kitchen counter. Sebastian told me to get out of the kitchen and get my assignment done so we could spent some time together later. I listened to him for the first time in like years and did my assignment with a can of Monster Energy near me. Sebastian finished the work in the kitchen and then he plopped himself on the couch next to me and grabbed his laptop and started answering some e-mails.   
“I am dooone” I said as I submitted my essay half an hour later.  
“So am I doll” he replied as he was closing the screen of his laptop. ”What do you want to do now?”  
“I have no idea. We could facetime with Chris and Mackie later in the evening cause I miss them so much and maybe watch a movie all four?”  
“Sounds like a fun idea draga. I will text them both right now. ” he answered as he pulled his phone from the pocket of his jeans typing a message in their group chat.  
“Done. Chris is with Scott so he will probably join us too.”  
“This is just great.”  
I met Scott Evans twice in my life since I was friends with Seb, one time at Civil War premiere and one time at a brunch, but he was such a nice guy and I wished I spent more time with him. We heard a double ping which meant that they replied on the group chat.  
‘I am down for it Seabass.’ Mackie replied.  
‘Me and Scott say yes to this . Also Dodger misses you guys. ’  
I smiled at the last text. I loved dogs with my whole heart and Dodger was so affectionate and sweet that it just melted my heart.  
‘Is it 7 PM okay for you? Well it will be 6 for Mackie. ’  
‘Yeah it is fine. See ya later boys ’  
‘See ya.’  
“Well I guess it is settled then. 7 PM movies, games and drinks with the boys. What should we do until then?”  
I looked at the clock and it was only 3 PM. We had a long ride to go.


	5. The one with the scare

It was a a few hours later and you just started preparing the snacks for the movie. You chopped some veggies and placed them on a wooden board with some hummus and then dropped a bag of tortilla chips in a bowl and took a smaller bowl for some salsa dip. For the drinks you chose to bring just some water for you and a bottle of beer for Sebastian. You placed everything on the coffee table and you turned around as you heard him laughing at something/someone.

He was talking on the phone with his mother as he did everyday and she probably mentioned something about their sweet new puppy Lola because he was laughing and looked at the screen of his phone before placing it back to his ear and spoke some romanian words that you did not understand so well. You started learning some romanian on Duolingo a few years back but you even though you felt quite accomplished with you work and he was proud of you for even trying you did not had the time to practice it frequently and that made you sad.  
"Da mama, am grija de ea. Da nu o sa o las sa faca asa ceva. Nu stiu mama. Te rog nu incepe iar cu asta." He said in a whiny voice.   
As you were looking at him you heard a call coming on the screen of your laptop and Chris's name popping. You quickly answered and smiled at the sight of the man just as Anthony was joining the party.

"Hey giiirl how's it going?"   
"Oh you know just a bit work here and there, missed having a day off for myself and also missed talking to you guys."  
"We missed you too little one" Chris replied and you pouted at the nickname.  
"You know I hate when you call me that Dorito."  
"Yeah yeah we know doll. Where is Sebby boy? Talking to his momma ?" Anthony asked.  
"Yeah. He should be coming tho. Apparently the little one, Lola did something cute so they are probably chatting about that right now. "  
"Ohh I wished I could've met her. Dodger would've loved her. Also Scott should be here any minute now he just went out to grab some beers." Chris mentioned as I nodded my head. We kept talking about our lives and what we did while we did not talk so much. Just as Chris said, Scott joined us and being a clumsy boy he almost spilled the beer in his brother lap as he tripped over Dodger's sleeping form.

"Mama avem o seara de filme programata imediat si nu vreau sa îi fac sa astepte" Sebastian said to his mother in the kitchen as he watched his best friends catching up and laughing. "Vorbim maine. Ai grija de tine. Kiss Lola for me and send me more videos please."

He closed the call and set his phone on the kitchen counter and then made his way to the couch.   
"Ooooh Sexy Seabass in the house. How's it going man?"   
"Always a charmer aren't ya? I am good tho how are you?" He responded with a big grin on his face.  
"You saw him last week. You have not seen me in months and you don't ask me how I am? I feel wounded" Chris replied as the drama queen that he is.  
We all laughed at the man that did the iconic left boob grab but this time it wasn't because he was laughing but because he pretended to get his feelings hurt by his bestie.  
"Aww I am sorry man I wanted to ask you last because you are the most important one that's why." Seb got into his game." But you seem perfectly fine from my angle over here. Not wounded or on the verge of death. So I think you are just very excited to see me."  
"Hell yeah I am. I miss my Bucky."  
"Hug the pillow that I gave you" I replied smiling  
"I do but it is just not the same" he answered sniffing as he was pretending to be crying.  
"Okay this is enough drama for the whole evening" Scott claimed and Anthony nodded.   
"What are we watching? " I asked   
"Uh oh let's doo a horror" Chris answered and all the boys nodded and so did I even tho I was as scared as a cat.  
Sebastian started a thing called Netflix Party or something like that and I placed a blanket on top of me not because I was cold mostly but because I knew I would get scared and needed to grab onto something so I would not scream. The movie started and all was well, some comments here and there made by the boys with a lot of crunchy noises and some laughs from the Evans brothers. It wasn’t until the middle of the movie that I got pretty scared at one point, when a freakish hand grabbed the main character from the neck and pulled him into a magical doomed lake ,and grabbed onto my blanket hoping that no one would notice. After a few more minutes of me being scared and not understanding at what the boys laughed I stood up and went in the kitchen to refill my water glass.  
“Seb do you want another beer?” I someway screamed from the kitchen so he could hear me.  
“No thank you darling, I am fine. You could tho get me one of those freakish green drinks we got today.”   
I opened the fridge after I refilled my glass and took one of the green juices that he liked and that I wasn’t very fond of. Too healthy for me. I took them both in the living room and gave him his bottle and placed my glass on the coffee table then wrapped myself back in the blanket.   
“You know if you are cold you can just come near me and we can cuddle. It is not that big of deal.” He said in a lower tone so that the other guys didn’t hear even if they were already used to us cuddling.  
“Oh yeah no, thanks for the offer. I am not really cold you know. Just a bit scared and it feels good to just be able to grab onto something when I am freaking out and not scream.”  
“Ohh darling why didn’t you said anything before? We would’ve chose something that would make you comfortable.” He replied with concern on his face.  
“No Sebby it is fine. I need to face my fears one way or another don’t I? Besides you guys are having fun and that is just fine by me.” I assured him and then he just pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head.  
“I just want you to be okay and happy.” He mumbled in my hair.  
“Hey lovebirds are we still watching or we should leave?” Mackie’s voice being heard over the small sort of intimate moment me and him were having.  
“We are still watching but we are changing the movie. Jay is getting scared and as much as I want to finish it we four can finish another time.”  
“JayJay why you didn’t say anything? I feel so bad for suggesting this one.” Chris started apologizing   
“As I said to Seb before, I am okay if it means that you guys are happy and enjoying it. So chill, we are not changing the movie until it is done.” I replied and looked from one man’s eyes to another as they were nodding their heads.  
“I love it when she is bossy.” Scott said and Chris smacked him lightly in the back of his head as I chuckled.  
“Thank you Scotty I love you too. ”  
They started the movie again and I was now in Sebastian’s strong arms and felt a little bit more protected until one of those little fuckers decided to jump from the magical mystical doomed lake again and I grabbed the nearest thing from me and it just so happened to be his hand and closed my eyes. I stood like that for a while until I heard him saying that it was over and then I opened my eyes just to see the full face of the weird creature. I smacked him in the shoulder and then stood up as he was laughing.  
“Oh c’mon love it was funny. I am sorry don’t be mad at me it was Anthony’s idea. ”  
I looked at him between my almost closed eyes and huffed. I couldn’t be mad at him as he was making that puppy face at me that was way too adorable.  
“Mackie next time you are dead. ”  
He smiled and said his goodbyes after apologizing and me forgiving him with the promise that next time he would stay longer but right now he needed to take care of his children. Scott excused himself as he wasn’t feel really good and he wanted to sleep it off so it remained jut the two of us and Chris.  
“Guys I am going to the bathroom . Be nice.” I said laughing at the last sentence.  
“Yes mom.” They both answered laughing.  
“Dude what is going on between you two? I know you guys are close but you just seemed like a couple.”  
“Nah dude, we are just friends. She one of the few people I can trust. I love her with my whole heart just as I love you and Mack.”  
“Didn’t look like that from our point of you but as you say bud. I just want you to be happy and you seem very happy with her so I wouldn’t mind if things would be different.”  
“Thanks for the support Chris but nothing will happen. She doesn’t like me in that way. ”  
“As you say buddy.”  
“What are you guys talking about?” I asked oblivious of the conversation they had before.  
“Oh you know how Sebby here is getting more famous than me and that I am proud of him and his hard work.” Chris replied very fast and you nodded your head in agreement and came from behind the couch and hugged the man sitting down.  
“I am proud of you too buttercup if I didn’t say it that recently” you said as you had your arms around his neck and your chin on the top of his head.  
“I know you are munchkin, I know. We literally watched Once Upon A Time yesterday I think you expressed it pretty clear but thank you.”  
“What can I say? You with eyeliner look very handsome. It brings out your eyes.”  
“You and Mackie should form a cult. He is also praysing Sebastian’s eyes every time he can.” Chris answered as he stood up stretching an then saying goodbye as he was taking Dodger out for a walk.  
“Kiss him for me will ya?” I screamed at the top of my lungs as he almost closed the call.  
He nodded and waved goodbye and then closed. It was just the two of us again.  
“I will clean up here you can search for another movie or go to bed or…”  
“It is just past nine I think we can manage another movie.”  
You picked an animation movie, actually one that came out not too long ago.  
“Why are we watching Onward?” he asked as he came from the kitchen.  
“Because it is interesting. It has sorcery.”  
“Yeah and Tom Holland.”  
“You won’t see his face sweets. Beside you love the kid.”  
“Can’t argue with that. The kid is impressive.”  
You laughed at his statement and then snuggled closer to him as you were following the adventures of the two brothers. You fell asleep at some point almost before the end of the movie and you felt someone moving you into your bed but you couldn’t even mumble a ‘thank you’ as you were already snoring.


	6. The one with the food

When you woke up the following morning you felt like something was strange for a bit. You remembered feeling asleep on the couch wrapped around a warm body and with tears streaming down your cheeks.  
You stood up and threw the covers from your body a chilly air making you tremble. You made your way to the closet and grabbed a hoodie and then walked out of your room to find Sebastian.

"Seb?"you asked as you walked down the corridor.  
No one answered so you were a bit concerned. You walked to the kitchen where you remembered you left your phone and grabbed it. There were a few messages from your mother updating you on her consultations as she did every two weeks. There were also a few messages from Maggie the girl you needed to do a project with informing you that she would be down for a facetime at the end of the week so you two could put the project together. You texted both of them and then typed a quick message to Sebastian asking where is he and if he is okay as you realized that he was out of the house. He replied a few moments later with a vocal message.  
"I am okay darling. I hope you slept okay. I woke up a bit earlier today and decided to go for a run. Next time I will leave a note. Sorry if I scared you. I should be home in like 10-15 minutes."  
You smiled as you listened to the message and you placed your phone after you replied with a quick 'okay , stay safe xx'. You walked tot the fridge and took a blueberry yogurt and walked to the couch to eat while watching an episode of BoJack. You sat down but then you realized that you forgot to get a tablespoon so you pressed pause on the tablet screen, got up and walked back to the kitchen. As you made your way back to your breakfast you heard the door closing and some noise coming from the hallway as Seb was taking of his shoes and removing the hoodie and cap that he was wearing. You waited for him to notice you and when he did you smiled.  
"Good morning frumoaso."  
"Neata dragutule" you replied in Romanian.  
"Still on BoJack as you eat huh?" He asked as he was leaning in to press a kiss on my cheek and hug you from behind the couch. He knew your habit since the last time you stayed at his place during Thanksgiving break.  
"Yeah, I have a few episodes left and I should finish it."  
“Well pofta buna. I am going to have a quick shower now. After this I should have some sort of online meeting with Don. What are you doing today?”  
“Surprisingly I am free today. I have a project that I need to do with a colleague but we are gonna do that in the weekend because that is when she is all settled at her home from what I understood.”  
“This is nice. Well after my sort of interview/meet/chit-chat with Don maybe we can do something fun together.”  
“Are you trying to make me cook for you Sebby? Or maybe bake some of the nice cookies you love.”  
“Well not trying but if you are offering and maybe I can do some helping not just in the eating part, then yeah sure.”  
I laughed at his response and nodded.  
“I am gonna bake for you goof. But you can’t mention this to Don or he will chase me again with a frying pan.”  
“I won’t do that again or I will lose my favorite chef.” He mentioned proudly.  
You laughed a little then kissed his cheek and walked to the kitchen to put the tablespoon to wash it later and the empty yogurt container in the trash can. He stood there next to the couch and watched your moves before shaking his head and walking towards his bedroom for some clean clothes. You heard the bathroom door a few minutes later and the water running in the shower. You then took your tablet and phone and went into your room to answer some emails and maybe do some more schoolwork to be a bit ahead in order to spend some more time with your friend. As you opened your laptop you saw some lectures posted as videos and some assignments that were due for the next couple of weeks. You also checked your university official website for the exam schedule in order to be able to start preparing and not cram everything in the last few nights as you used to do every year. You organized a calendar for the upcoming exams in your diary and started one of the assignments that was a research on the filmography from the 80’s. You quite enjoyed and find it pretty easy to do that as you were finding a lot of information in the books the teacher recommended to read at the beginning of the term and which you downloaded in pdf on your laptop.  
After a couple of hours of productive work you were beginning to be pretty bored and a bit tired and walked out of the room to get a soda or an energy drink. As you were walking in the living room you heard some laughs and a voice speaking that was not Seb’s which meant that you were kind of interrupting his interview. You saw his body on the couch and got down on all fours so you could not be seen by the people on the screen walking behind the couch. You successfully got inside the kitchen and stood up on your feet to open the fridge and get your drink. You sort of forgot that the kitchen and the living room were sort of an open space and when you stood up it looked like you teleported there as you heard someone saying that behind you. You turned around and looked at the computer screen and saw none other than Don and a buddy of his.   
“If isn’t the lovely lady that makes the best Alfredo pasta ever. Hope you are not stuffing my boy here with a bunch of junk food are you?”  
“Hi Don it is nice to see you too. And no, actually you will be proud to hear that he is actually pushing me to eat more healthy.” You responded to the smiley man on the screen.  
“Yeah I feel like I am doing a good job until now beside these horrible drinks that she is having.” Seb replied talking about the Monster you had in your hand.  
“Oh sush these are helping me get throughout my bad times such as exams and deadlines and every other times when I do not need to sleep. And they also taste very good. See, fruit punch? ” you told him as you showed him the label.  
He just shook his head and looked back to the screen monitor.  
“Well I think this is it with todays interview/meeting Seb. It was nice seeing you and of course saying ‘hi’ to Jay. We missed you by the gym kiddo. You are a real hyper there.”  
“Thanks for having me Don, stay safe man and say hi to your family for me. ”  
“I missed you too Don and it was very nice to see your face even if it was for like five minutes. See ya.” You said as you blew a kiss to the screen and then waved off as the call was closed.  
You placed the can on the coffee table in front of you and stretched your arms in front of you letting a little squeal as Seb poked you in the ribs.  
“What do you want to do now?” you asked the man.  
“Well I do not know about you but I am hungry. I munched some biscuits and drank some coffee after the run but I need some lunch in me.”  
“Is it already lunch time?” you asked.  
“Well it is almost two so yeah it is pretty much lunch time. ”  
“Well apparently time has passed faster than I thought so that is fine. What do you want for lunch?”  
“Well ever since Don mentioned your pasta my mouth is kinda watering so if it is not much pf a trouble could we have that?” he asked with puppy eyes.  
“Of course we can. Let me just get my hands washed and put my hair back in a ponytail.” you responded and walked to the bathroom.  
You washed your hands and face and dried them on the towel that was hanged in there and then placed your hair in a ponytail and exited the bathroom while removing the hoodie that you still had on since this morning but you didn’t want to get it dirty and you were also feeling pretty warm. You entered the kitchen and saw that Sebastian already took out all you needed for you famous Alfredo recipe.  
“Okay my little helper let’s get started shall we?”  
“Aye aye chef.”he replied .  
You took the pot from his hands and filled it with some water and put some salt in it and placed it on the stove and let it boil. After that you placed the fettuccini in the pot and let it cook for around ten minutes until it was al dente and then drained the water.  
“Seb can you give me the pan please? Also bring the butter please.”  
You melt butter into cream over low heat after that you added salt, pepper and garlic salt. Stirred some cheese in over medium heat until melted for thickening the sauce. You added the pasta to the sauce along with some already cooked chicken and some broccoli and mixed it together to make sure all the sauce was used and that the pasta was thoroughly coated.  
“Place some plates down Sebby I am almost done here. And get that parmesan out so I can top the plates.”  
You filled both of the plates and placed what was left on the closed stove to cool down.  
“How is it?” you asked nervously as he swallowed his first bite.  
“It is just as amazing I remembered ” he replied with a smile and he squeezed your hand.  
“Thank you love”  
You ate your lunch in silence and he washed the dishes after because ’at least that he can do good’ and you let him as you plopped on the couch.  
“Hey Seb is any chance to get a sneak peak to ‘Endings, beginnings’?” you asked him.  
“Well Drake said that he will send me a prop in an e-mail these days so maybe today is your lucky day missy.”  
“Oooh can’t wait to see you as Frank. Those pictures you send me while you were shooting got me soo excited. I am so pumped right now.”


End file.
